St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page announced today that the county is expecting to receive millions in federal funding to help in its COVID-19 response.
Final figures are not yet available, according to a statement from Page, but rough estimates based on population suggest that St. Louis County could receive far more than $100 million.
“We have been doing everything we can to limit the spread of COVID-19,” Page said. “This new funding will empower county government to do even more for the people of St. Louis County.”
Legislation passed by Congress, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act, will provide economic relief for individuals, businesses, and state and local governments. It is estimated that Missouri will receive $2.38 billion in desperately needed funds to benefit our state’s residents, according to U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay.
Local governments with a population of over 500,000 residents, like St. Louis County, qualify to receive a portion of those funds directly from the federal government. Under the new federal law, all the funds must be spent in St. Louis County.
St. Louis city has a smaller population and will receive money from state funds. A spokesman for Mayor Lyda Krewson said they did not have an exact amount yet, but it’s “in the millions” and will go toward important causes like homelessness, law enforcement, airport and community development.
“In the City of St. Louis, we have taken unprecedented action to prevent continued spread of COVID-19,” Krewson said. “The CARES Act will provide significant resources and relief to individuals, businesses, health care workers, and government, all of whom are being economically devastated by this worldwide pandemic.”
Both Krewson and Page said they were grateful to the lawmakers who secured the funds.
This legislation includes “recovery rebates” for middle- and low-income families. The amount of the rebate depends on family size. The payment is $1,200 for each adult individual ($2,400 for joint filers), and $500 per qualifying child under age 17.
The advance payment of rebates is reduced by $5 for every $100 of income to the extent a taxpayer’s income exceeds $150,000 for joint filers, $112,500 for a head of household filer, and $75,000 for anyone else (including single filers). The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will deliver these rebates soon in the form of advance payments.
U.S. Rep. Lacy Clay said he was proud of the emergency housing priorities included in this bill. It includes a temporary moratorium on evictions and foreclosures for homeowners with federally backed mortgages and renters in federally subsidized housing, and $4 billion for emergency grants for homelessness assistance.
The CARES Act also includes provisions to improve unemployment benefits including providing an additional $600 per week for the next four weeks, providing an additional 13 weeks of federally funded benefits, and expanding eligibility to include workers in the gig economy and self-employed workers.
Nationwide, the legislation provides for more than $375 billion in small business relief, including $349 billion for forgivable loans to small businesses to pay their employees and keep them on the payroll; $17 billion for debt relief for current and new SBA borrowers; and $10 billion in immediate disaster grants.
It provides an investment of about $200 billion in our hospitals, health systems, and health research, including expanding funding for the personal protective equipment desperately needed by our health care workers, including ventilators, n95 masks, gowns, gloves, etc.
Other programs include subsidizing transit agencies, housing grants, child care, low income energy assistance, and election assistance.
“The bill primarily addresses provisions to save lives and support families, workers and small businesses,” Clay said. “Specifically, this bill will provide direct payments to eligible American families to help pay bills and stimulate our economy to help us recover from the widespread and enduring hardships caused by the COVID 19 pandemic.”